Parenting Toolbox
Play
By Matthew H., Parent to Totally Terrific Taco Lauren and Powerful Penguin Clara
It’s summer time, the best time of year for our children to do what they do best — PLAY!
Our adult life is consumed with very practical responsible thinking — work, bills, family. A never ending treadmill of sweet soul crushing neurotic worries.
Contrast that with our children’s minute to minute thinking:
“Ooooh, a Puddle!”
“This patch of dirt could use a hole in it… and that hole should probably be filled with water!”
“Oooohhh, Glue!”
Summer break is a great time to let our kids enjoy the free range lifestyle. In adult speak we would call this “Free Play” and there is mounting evidence showing the importance of children getting blocks of time to just play.
Of course I don’t want to understate the importance of structured activities. These will give children opportunities to develop skills and aptitudes. Camps, Leagues, and other programs give children opportunities to gain critical life lessons. Our children will need the discipline learned in these programs to thrive in the technically rigorous society we are creating.
However, we should not overlook the critical skills free play will help develop.
- Using creativity and developing imagination
- Engaging with the environment and taking initiative
- Conquering fears and building confidence
- Working in groups and solving problems
- Rehearsing decision-making scenarios
There is another bonus, and this is a much more subjective observation by me, but definitely worth mentioning… unstructured play has provided me with abundant opportunities for parent-child bonding. “Oh no! What’s that? The floor is Lava! Quick lets throw some pillows and blankets on the ground and leapfrog our way out of trouble.” Or, there is the always rousing game of “Pillow Launcher-Tickle Monster” (yup, you read that right). The rules involve throwing pillows, freeze time outs, and of course tickle attacks. And there have been countless Magna-Tiles cities built and inhabited by Hatchimals and other random toys. My favorite character to play is “Clumsy Dad Panda.” His claim to fame is his overzealous buffoonery, ending with frequent trips to the hospital.
These are games made up by my kids and vaguely understood by me, but the enthusiasm the kids bring is infectious. Oftentimes the games have rules added, removed, and changed. It’s utter chaos to me, but entertaining and engaging for the kids.
There isn’t much advice I can provide on giving free play opportunities. After all, by its nature it is unguided, unstructured, and FREE! The best advice I can give on providing free play is to keep the calendar open for a few hours out of the day. Children will not have any issue filling this free time with creative free play. But don’t plan on using this time to take a nap or sneak a Netflix episode… More than likely you will be asked to join in the fun!
“Oh no! I’ve fallen off the roof again! I think I broke my paw!”
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